Walfredo was played for the first time since June 27, 2010 (186 shows) and was in memory of Adam Berger, a fan who had passed away earlier in the year. Trey teased Simple in Camel Walk and the Munsters theme after Rift. Take Me Out to the Ballgame was a Phish debut, and was played as an instrumental.

Show Reviews

I wasn't at this show, but had the liberty to listen to the second set. Since no one posted a review yet, for those that are looking: the Ghost > Bug > Seven Below was pretty stellar. Ghost featured trey eerily wavering in key, truly a unique version that goes to a rather sparse, disjointed ambient territory before piecing itself back together to an uplifting segment. Don't have the numbers but it seemed like this jam went on for well over 15 minutes. I remember thinking this was the best "Bug" I've heard in a while, and the Seven Below went to hose territory. I'm sure others had other highlights, notably the interesting first set, but I would say check this tri-fecta out if anything else.

This was my first time SF show, before then I've been to state of CA once at Festival 8. SF was very beautiful town, and I stayed Hyatt Regency near sea was good location.

I passed out during middle part of 1st set that I was carried by my friends.
Missed 1st set, OMG. Maybe that happened they played Maze.
Anyway, I came back to America for Phish. I always just to see Phish to visit America.

Long time fan here, making to journey to SF to catch night 1. I'm often a little too critical perhaps and definitely an intense listener to every note of our favorite band.

Last night was really really good folks. Set one was very well played and consisted of a strong song selection throughout. it had - a serious bust-out, a sweet Axilla - ode to the road to 10/31, and a rocking Party Time.

Set 2: Here are my thoughts. BOAF was played with some serious authority here - to make up for the previous version which had some weird energy surrounding it's ending. So glad they pounded that nail in - Waiting all night features the line "I said I'm sorry" which I thought was a subtle humor to it all. Ghost's intro might have continued the theme - with the band having some fun with us and reminding us that "It doesn't matter." Great Ghost.

7 Below was FIRE. I personally didn't know that I was that far gone until I was reminded.

Okay, 2001. Absolute. Monster. A fire breathing dragon. Shared some qualities of Dick's Simple, imo. The place was absolutely insane. Paige hit us with one or two "Shakedown Street riffs" (no one has mentioned this yet, I haven't re-listened, but pretty sure it's there)

Wonderful show. Tightly played, Loose when it needed to be, FIRE through most, and close to perfect playing throughout.

Sound was typical for Bill Graham...thank god for better speaker technology cause the place is a box...instrument sound was clean, but vocals were muddy.

Rift and Maze were strong 1st set highlights, Party time was fun...All in all fun and we had a good time, I think there was a sigh of relief...a promise of a good three night run in SF. I kept hearing Simple tease (Maybe tomorrow!)

2nd started out interestingly with a solid Sand, but things got rolling along with the Ghost>Bug. I thought that would be the highlight of an already decent night. I was wrong

Chalkdust was what I thought would be the set closer, but Trey brought his "A" game (for the entire show really) so the boys really "kicked up a notch" with fine 2001, then were given another treat with Slave.

"Take me out..." we'll see what the Giants do to help the party atmosphere tomorrow, it could be berserker here in the city

Winterqueen was what it was.....but no complaints here since A Day in the Life sent us off into the night on a high note.

First off, I don't know what the reviewer above is talking about. They didn't play Kill Devil Falls last night.

Soooo....This show was really good. Really, really good. I never dreamed they would play Stash, Rift, and Maze in the same set. Stash got pretty wicked. The strongest first set I've heard yet this tour.

I agree with the sentiment in the second review that there was a sense of relief...They WERE going to show up and play excellent music, something we used to never have to worry about, but after sets like Santa Barbara first set of first night, it's always on the back of our minds, and probably theirs.

The Sand>Birds pairing is where the real meat of the show is. Sand got really wicked. Very deep freak rock in the vein of Rock n Roll from the Gorge in 2011. The energy in the venue at this point was sky high. So they decided to play Waiting All Night. Sometimes I just don't get this band. I mean, they've earned the right to play whatever they want, but the crowd was just looking for a reason to explode and it didn't come.

There's no other way to say this: they totally fell apart during Ghost. They kept screwing up the changes. At one point Trey turned around and glared at Page. They did redeem themselves with a gorgeous gam that went dark and eventually turned to a very bright place. Definitely worth a listen. What followed was the best Bug I can remember. Trey played with an incredible amount of emotion.

All in all, this was a very good show. If you don't listen to anything else, listen to Sand>Birds. I left remembering why I love this band so much. We're very excited for tonight. And with the city playing the World Series on the lawn in front of the venue, it's going to be NUTS.

While I was not present for the show, I did have the opportunity to listen to it live. This show was more than strong enough to warrant a second listen this morning.

The first set was as stronger than any we've been treated to this fall. Walfredo was a fun bust out. As usual, everyone was hoping 555 would last more than 5:55. It doesn't, but I still enjoy the tune and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Maze and Stash both had a little extra mustard. Brian and Robert was a lovely breather in between. I know some people groan at the thought of 46 Days, but this version built some good momentum and sent me to the break on a high note.

There was great excitement among those I was with when the boys opened the second set with Sand. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who thought the jam was promising and kept waiting for it to turn the corner. Eventually, it did turn the corner, right into an average Kill Devil Falls. I'll admit, at the end of KDF, I was a little bit worried, and the band seemed to know exactly what I was thinking at the time. I'd been Waiting All Night for some serious improvisation. Fortunately, and unbeknownst to me at the time, the band was about to deliver.

The Ghost that followed Waiting All Night was strange and new from the first note. The jam out of Ghost continued the strange, dark, fragmented theme that opened the song, before building into a much brighter conclusion and a segue into a very good Bug.

The Ghost jam could easily be the highlight of any show this year, but in this case, it has some competition. The Seven Below that followed Bug was beautiful. Some might even suggest that the boys turned the Hose on us.

Seven Below drops us into I Didn't Know, and Moses comes out for a vacuum solo. After the stellar Ghost>Bug>Seven Below sandwich, Chalk Dust Torture seems like a tease. Could there be more? Alas, CDT stays true to form and is followed by a fairly average 2001. Like 46 Days in the first set, a formulaic Slave, with an above average solo, closes the set brilliantly.

Upon returning for the encore, the boys noodle their way through Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and the enthusiastic Giants fans sing along. Winterqueen is a beautiful song, and it grows on me every time I hear it. A Day in the Life is played for the first time this year, and closes out the show.

The Ghost > Bug > Seven Below demands a listen, but there are gems throughout that make this show worth hearing again.

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